Girls' basketball: Brandon-Evansville tops Henning, Ashby

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The Brandon-Evansville girls used some clutch three-point shooting to earn a 61-59 win over Henning in overtime last Friday night.

The Chargers hit 8-of-14 threes in the game and none were bigger than the one that Carlie Steffenson hit with less than a minute left in overtime. She turned a one-point deficit into a two-point lead that Brandon-Evansville never relinquished down the stretch.

“This was a good win,” head coach Dick Simpson said. “They were 12-4. They’ve done pretty well, so to go up there, that says something about our kids that they were able to pull out an overtime win after getting a big win against Ashby the night before.”

The Chargers led for much of the night before Henning went on a run with almost 10 minutes left. The Hornets led by as much as seven points, but back-to-back threes by Megan Kokett helped get the Chargers back in it. Megan Friedrich then tied the game with one of two free throws to send it into overtime tied at 53.

Friedrich and Kokett both had big nights for the Chargers. Friedrich had a game-high 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kokett added 18 points, while Kinsley Randt didn’t score but affected the game with seven rebounds and five assists.

“We’ve come a long ways since [being] 0-5,” Simpson said. “Henning is good. We kind of executed down the stretch, made some free throws, and Megan Friedrich kind of carried us for a while there. She was wanting the ball at the end.”

The Chargers moved to 8-7 with the win and welcomed in New York Mills on Monday before Rothsay comes to Brandon on Thursday. The Chargers will go to Battle Lake for a Little Eight Conference make-up game on Friday.

GAME STATISTICS

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE 22 31 8 – 61

HENNING 21 32 6 – 59

TOTALS – B-E – FG – 21-55; Three-point FG – 8-14; FT – 11-16; Rebounds – 34; Turnovers – 22; Henning – FG – 22-59; FT – 11-19; Rebounds – 26; Turnovers – 11

B-E – Kokett – 18 points; Steffenson – 6 points; M. Friedrich – 23 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Elizabeth Vinson – 4 points; Mariah Hansen – 4 points; Emily Friedrich – 5 points; Kristine Bettermann – 1 point; Randt – 7 rebounds, 5 assists

HENNING – Kaitlyn Richter – 9; Megan Richter – 14; Alyssa Houselog – 8; Casey Haugdahl – 20; Courtney Dague – 4; Kendal Bjorklund – 4

B-E 55, Ashby 50

The Chargers got big nights from Megan Kokett and Megan Friedrich to hold off Ashby in a 55-50 game last Thursday night.

Friedrich had 19 points, three steals and five rebounds and Kokett finished with 18 points to lead their team over a conference rival. Emma Friedrich also added 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Ashby’s Amber Sundal had a game-high 20 points in the losing effort.

“It was a typical Brandon-Evansville and Ashby game,” Chargers head coach Dick Simpson said. “They know each other from track and everything. It’s a pretty good rivalry, and it was nice to get a Little Eight Conference win over there. We played pretty well, shot a pretty fair percentage with not many shots.”

Kokett hit a couple important threes in the second half to help the Chargers take control. The Arrows cut it to a four-point game in the final minute, but Brandon-Evansville hit a few free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

GAME STATISTICS

ASHBY 25 25 – 50

B-E 28 27 – 55

TOTALS – Ashby – FG – 14-44; Rebounds – 29; Turnovers – 12; B-E – FG – 16-37; FT – 17-29; Rebounds – 25; Turnovers – 14

B-E – Kokett – 18 points; Carlie Steffenson – 1 point; M. Friedrich – 19 points, 3 steals, 5 rebounds; Elizabeth Vinson – 5 points, 3 assists; Emma Friedrich – 10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists; Kinsley Randt – 2 points, 3 assists

ASHBY SCORING – Sundal – 20; Abbi Ras – 9; Kerstyn Schroeder – 2; Cassandra Jordan – 8; Madison Van Santen – 1; Emily Elliot – 2; Becca Hanson – 3; Meg Roley – 5

Tags: brandon evansville sports, sports, chargers, girls, basketball